IDENTY-KIT [this is not the Asian woman I want]
PROPOSAL FOR AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL AWARENESS CAMPAIGN
How does it feel to be a woman in Newham Asian Community? According to a survey conducted among women in the Asian Community of the Borough of Newham, London, women are supposed to heed each of their husband’s demands, and more broadly to fulfill the entire society’s expectations. Personality and aspirations would not seem to be very welcome, apparently. IDENTY-KIT is an interactive installation designed as a reflection to the above mentioned survey. The aim was to possibly attempt to try and make people experience an Asian woman’s situation. The interactive nature of this work invites the members of the public to determine and continuously change the way the work itself looks by actively choosing the various parts it comprises. moreover more than just one person at any one time can interact with the installation, trying to make it a true participatory experience.
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| DEVICE #1: NOSES |
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| OVERALL VIEW |
In
a large, dark room people have in front of them five different
touch-screen devices from which they can choose the features of an
Asian woman’s face. Device 1: Eyes; device 2: Nose; device 3:
Forehead+Hair; device 4: Ears; device 5: Mouth. They can choose
whichever features they prefer and constantly monitor
their collective choices on a multi-screen on the floor. As
the features belong to different faces, more often than not the result
on the multi-screen has little grace? Beyond the visual result of all
this, the whole
process serves as a metaphor for how some women in the Newham Asian
community feel: a patchwork of everybody else’s will. As a
stark explanation/reminder of the meaning of this installation, there
is a quotation from a lady in a 25-30 years old Asian women focus group
on
the way out:
... they (Asian women) have to be perfect. They have to be everything the mother in law wants, be everything the husband wants, be everything their parents want… be everything…
... they (Asian women) have to be perfect. They have to be everything the mother in law wants, be everything the husband wants, be everything their parents want… be everything…
